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Perish Thoughts Of Staying Beyond 2019, PDP Tells APC …As Herdsmen Renew Attack, Kill Monarch, Nine Others
The Peoples Democratic Party has told President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress to perish the thought of staying in the Presidency beyond May 29, 2019, as Nigerians have rejected them.
The PDP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan last Monday said the President already knows he has failed, adding that such accounts to why he is no longer confident whenever it comes to issues of 2019 general elections.
The party said Buhari’s media adviser, Femi Adesina, only confirmed the obvious when he announced the apprehensions being entertained by the President over the 2019 race, adding that Buhari must have appropriately assessed and rated his administration as a failure.
Stating that the President would not be worried about opponents if he had done well in office, the PDP also charged the APC and the Presidency to end their current attempts to use paid fifth columnists in their failed bid to cause disharmony within the repositioned and rebranded PDP.
Ologbondiyan said: “It is instructive to note that the Presidency’s comment is coming after the intimidating PDP mega rally in Dutse, Jigawa State, which sent a clear signal to President Buhari and the APC.
“If President Buhari had done well in office; if his government had not wrecked our economy; if his government had not damaged our national unity, resulting in the daily bloodletting in our country; if his administration had not betrayed the people and failed in delivering even the littlest of his campaign promises, President Buhari would not be afraid of any opponent ahead of elections as stated by his media aide.
“From Mr. Adesina’s comment, it is clear that the President is fully aware that he has become grossly unpopular and cannot command any electoral value. Both the President and his party must therefore instruct themselves appropriately and completely bury the thought of staying in office beyond May 2019.
“We therefore advice the Presidency and the APC to jettison any plot to force its way using intimidation, coercion and manipulations as such would be firmly resisted by Nigerians.
Meanwhile, a traditional ruler, Musa Edibo (Onu Okenwu of Agbenema community), his wife and eight other persons were last Monday killed while several houses were burnt down by herdsmen in renewed attacks on Agbenema, Aj’Ichekpa, Opada and Iyade villages, in Omala Local Government Area of Kogi state.
The attackers who were said to be armed with sophisticated weapons hid in the bushes around these villages from were they launched deadly attacks on their targets. According to the natives, the herdsmen mode of operation is to set the houses ablaze and opened fire on the fleeing inhabitants, slit their throats, machete and cut off vital parts of their victims.
Our correspondent gathered from a source that the traditional ruler, his wife and another person were killed in Agbenema community while the other casualties were recorded in the other three communities. Our correspondent also gathered that the council’s administrator, Ibrahim Aboh escaped the attackers guns by the whiskers.
The source also said the security personnel drafted to curtail the herdsmen killings allegedly refused to assist the locals to repel the herdsmen. “It is clear that the aim of the herdsmen is to kill us and take over our ancestral homes.
They have razed down Ojuwo Ajomayeigbi, Iyade, Agbenema and Opada villages so that they could use our land for their cattle colonies.
“We want the world to come to our assistance before these Fulani’s exterminate and inherit our land. We have lost confidence in the security agencies posted to us, from their actions, we believed they have been instructed to adopt ‘siddon look’ while we are being massacred.
“Right now, coordinated war is raging simultaneously in most villages in Omala, Dekina, and Bassa LGAs .
Our people are being killed and houses burnt down, even as our women are being raped while many children who ran from the theatre of war were still missing. “Since the attacks begun, we cannot go to the farms even markets have closed.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
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RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.